WASHINGTON — Whatever path President-elect Donald Trump takes to the Capitol Rotunda before being sworn in on Monday, he will surely pass through the chaos, violence and destruction caused by supporters who stormed the Capitol on January 6, 2021 place.

If Trump passes through the Senate carriage entrance, as he did when he was first sworn in eight years ago, he will have two paths to choose from. The first left goes up the stairs leading to the Senate chamber, following the route where rioters chased Capitol police on January 6.

Staying at the same height and taking the second left, he will pass the first breach, where windows are broken, alarms sound and hundreds of rioters pour into the building. Many rioters later argued with police there as they tried to push the mob outside.

Another possible entry point — one that preceded President Joe Biden’s inauguration four years ago — would lead Trump through the rotunda doors on the east side of the Capitol, where scenes of forced entry and violent confrontations ——It is also the location of some oath-taking ceremonies. Members of the Guardian militia who were convicted of seditious conspiracy broke into the building.

If Trump were to enter from the House side of the Capitol, he would cross the path of Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Police Officer Jeffrey Smith, who has been attacked multiple times, including being hit in the head by a flying metal object on the Western Front department. U.S. Capitol - and then died by suicide. (Smith was found dead in the line of duty after a medical board determined that the injuries he sustained on January 6 were "the sole and proximate cause of his death.")

If Trump enters through the north door on the Senate side, he will walk past the site of a major conflict, where police and rioters battled chemical agents.

If he came in through the south door on the House side, he would have come in through the exit where first responders took away Ashli ​​Babbitt while trying to save the life of a Trump supporter. Attempted to jump out of the window into the House Speaker's Lobby.

Trump was supposed to speak from the inaugural platform, the massive scaffolding that workers have spent months building on the west side of the Capitol. On January 6, 2021, some of the most brutal violence occurred here.

To get to the area, where the usual venue for Trump's inauguration has been moved indoors due to winter weather, Trump had to exit through the lower west patio door, where police battled rioters for hours while Trump supporters also named Rosanne Boyland there before her death. This is the main entrance to the inauguration platform; where all the dignitaries enter; a federal judge dubbed it "Lady Gaga's entrance" because of her performance at Joe Biden's inauguration.

Now, cold weather has forced a change of plans for Trump, who will be sworn in in the Capitol Rotunda, where more attacks have taken place under the dome, where people in gas masks carried poles with American flags Use as a weapon against enemies. police.

Scenes of violence from four years ago are inevitably intertwined with the site of Trump's formal return to office, even as the president-elect has sought to downplay the violence and is expected to issue pardons to many of those involved.

"This was on the national news in front of everyone, and people like me came forward and told our stories, and my story was well documented with video and audio, but people didn't care," former Washington D.C. Police said department officer Michael Fanon. "It didn't resonate."

Farano does not plan to watch Monday's induction festivities, preferring to focus on watching his beloved Baltimore Ravens' playoff games over the weekend before calling it quits on Jan. 20. But he had something to take care of the week before: driving to Washington on Friday to attend his sixth sentencing hearing for participants in the Jan. 6 riot, pleading with the judge to punish another attacker.

As Fanon spoke to NBC News outside the courthouse, U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan walked by with two bodyguards, one on each side — a constant reminder that people involved in the investigation, prosecution or those presiding over cases related to the Capitol riots face security threats. Chutkan was scheduled to hear a federal case against the former president over election interference charges before they were dismissed following Trump's election in 2024.

Chatkan, like Fanon's mother, was hit last year when someone called with a false report, triggering a police investigation into their home.

"It's a shame that it's come to this," said Fanon, who voted for Trump in 2016. "But I guess the silver lining is that she was able to get security. "I'm not. Many Americans are not. "

To get to the site where the incoming president would walk through the Lower West Tunnel, the traditional site of presidential oaths and inaugural addresses (when cold weather doesn't force them indoors), members of the pro-Trump mob pulled Fano from the picket line Pull it open forcefully. and attacked him. Nearby, double golden doors mark the spot where officers were attacked, including fire extinguishers, baseball bats, hockey sticks, pepper, bear spray and flagpoles. An explosive device even went off inside the tunnel.

Anyone can watch some of the worst moments in footage from Fano's body-worn camera, which, unlike Fano's police radio and badge, was not ripped off during the riot.

This time, outdoor preparations for the inauguration have been halted, and by Friday afternoon, signage had begun to come off and inside the Capitol rotunda, staff began executing backup plans for the indoor swearing-in.

There are no official permanent markers of the riot inside the Capitol. The windows were repaired. The walls have been repainted. Gates to the Capitol, including those in the Lower West Tunnel, are getting some security enhancements.

Congress did pass a law that included the erection of a plaque to commemorate the officers who responded to the attack, but the deadline for its installation has long since passed without any action. House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters before the inauguration that he didn't mind the incident.

"You know, I haven't even looked at it. I need to check it out," Johnson said.

But other traces and memories of that day remain – for those who want to see them.